University of Portland reveals plans for its $35M riverfront expansion (Gallery)

A decade after it purchased and began cleaning up a 35-acre stretch of contaminated property along the Willamette River, the University of Portland is moving forward with an ambitious expansion of its campus in North Portland.

UP recently unveiled renderings of the planned Franz Campus, named after the late Robert Franz, an alumnus whose estate made a lead donation for the estimated $35 million project. The new campus will include two soccer fields, a tennis center, a track and field facility and a rowing center. There will also be a new environmental research space, a new physical plant building and additional parking.

"We acquired this 35-acre property about a decade ago and have been spending the time since remediating it and getting it cleaned up and certified," said Jim Ravelli, vice president of operations for UP. "Now it's ready to be put into productive use."

The expansion has been in the works since UP bought the property from Triangle Park LLC for $6 million in 2008. The acres are located within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site and had been home to a number of industrial users over the prior 80 years, including a barge repair operation and a Quickcrete plant.

Ravelli said some initial infrastructure work has already begun. The first two soccer fields should be completed by this fall, while the remaining projects will unfold over the next three years. The new facilities will allow the university to move some activities off of the main campus, thus opening property for potential redevelopment in the future. Ravelli said it's too early in the process to discuss what those new projects could be.

For a look at UP's forthcoming expansion, click through the gallery above.